Tango In Tokyo
by Mrs.TherapyMan
Summary: AU. One night stands are supposed to be exactly that – one night. Anything longer and things get pretty messy. Let's see how big of a mess Kagome and Inuyasha can really make. Oh boy...
1. Exotic

**Summary**: AU. One night stands are supposed to be exactly that – one night. Anything longer and things get pretty messy. Let's see how big of a mess Kagome and Inuyasha can really make. Oh boy...

**A/N:** I usually avoid cliché plots, but I like to amuse myself a lot. Lol. Enjoy! =D

* * *

**Tango In Tokyo  
_Chapter 1: Exotic_**

Sex. That was what Kagome liked. Hot nights of pure, unadulterated sex. Because, _really_, what was life without it?

Her life centered around her job like the planet revolved around the sun. A little excitement and frequent pleasure binges was just her way of coping. A guy with sex appeal was a far more interesting adventure and _several_ of them was just Oh My Orgasm. Though, being single was a bit easier for the sex part of the equation. Having some sort of barnacle with a dick stuck to your leg 24/7 really put a damper on things. Some called it relationships. Kagome called it hell on earth.

Her last substantial relationship was with some loser back in college who's name eluded her even now. He had such an indistinguishable face that just screamed _ew_. Even sex with him had been like sex with a french fry – utterly unexciting and even a bit...disgusting. What was the guys name...

"Get back to work, Higurashi."

Kagome jumped in her seat, careening away from her desk, and pulled herself forward. Henry was standing over her, giving her a twitchy, creepy sort of glare, the kind that belonged in vintage horror movies.

"I expect that Nakayami article done by tomorrow afternoon," he said to her.

Kagome sighed. "I'll be done with it before then," she said, although on the inside, she was wondering what would happen if she _wasn't_. The prospect didn't seem too bright and she currently had a severe case of Writer's Block.

Erika Nakayami wasn't exactly the simplest topic to talk about. She'd been born into poverty, gotten herself a rich guy and married it, and now she was the wanna-be blond, big-breasted housewife living the life of the rich and famous. It was an almost Cinderella story, except in this variation dear beloved Cinderella was a flagrant leaching doll. Unfortunately her husband was also one of the shareholders of Taisho Communications, Inc, Grandeur's boss, so-to-speak. If Kagome was lucky enough, she'd be able to finish the article without a drop of written sarcasm.

Miroku appeared beside her with two cups of coffee. He handed one to her. "You look in dire need of some caffeine."

She groaned. "That and a vacation to Jamaica. Thank you," she said and held the cup beneath her nose, inhaling it as if she would suck the sugar right out.

"Don't forget we have that meeting-slash-luncheon in thirty-minutes. Henry plans on 'brainstorming' for next month's publication."

"Yeah, I'll try not to snore too loud," she muttered and sipped her coffee. "Mmmm. Just how I like it."

He smiled down at her and leaned against the wall of her cubicle. "So I was thinking..."

_Oh, here we go_, she thought dreadfully. "Listen Miroku...I really enjoyed the time we had a few nights ago, but like I said, I _really_ don't do relationships." She should have known it was a bad idea to sleep with a coworker. One night with him and he was still humping her leg.

"We don't have to do the whole relationship thing if you don't want to. We can just do the whole wild-sex thing." He grinned at her. "I love tigers in bed."

"Your missing the whole point. I don't stay with _one_ guy."

The sardonic twist of his brow made him seem just a bit jealous. "You know what they call women who jump from man to man, right?"

She snorted. "Yeah, I think my mom told me that one. I really couldn't care less what its called. Maybe one day I'll settle down, but right now, I'm enjoying my freedom and fun while I can."

For a long moment, he stared at her as if considering his options. Then, he shook his head and began walking away. "Enjoy your coffee," he threw over his shoulder.

Rule number one: Never sleep with coworkers. Rule number two: Never sleep with friends. Kagome had managed to violate both rules in one shot. Granted, alcohol did have a slight role _and_ Miroku was always the biggest flirt, but even so, more stress at work was not very conducive to a productive environment. Miroku wasn't a bad person – in fact, he was quite the companion when he wanted to be. It was when he constantly had a hard-on for the wrong person that made him seem irritable. Like the dog who wouldn't stop humping the chair.

Just say no, kids.

The meeting-slash-luncheon was Henry's way of hinting that next month's magazine was their most crucial one this year – some important, rich brat was supposed to be featured in it and said brat's father or someone was endorsing in _a lot_ of zeros. Of course, Henry wouldn't come right out and say it because he was "high above the groveling sort" – his words exactly, which seemed odd because if Kagome had her facts rights, making this particular publication their most important one _was_ a form of groveling.

Oh, the irony.

But she supposed that was why it was a luncheon as well. The way to a person's heart – and not just a man's – was through the stomach. And Henry would need all the heart he could get.

"Kags, over here!" Sango called from across the conference room and waved her over.

"Can you not call me Kags?" she said as she took a seat beside her friend. "It just sounds so wrong."

"Sure thing, Kag-_ome_."

"Charming."

"For better or worse, my darling." She snapped her fingers. "Oh by the way, what was Miroku talking to you earlier for?"

"Oh, just...stuff."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Be a little more vague, _please_. I insist. What kind of stuff? Everyone knows Miroku doesn't do small talk."

"None of your business," she said sweetly.

"Ooooh, he became another one of your man meat, didn't he?" she laughed.

"Man meat? Really, Sango? And like I said, none of your business."

"I know I don't gossip like the other fools in this building, but that doesn't mean I don't like the occasional juice. Keeps me goin, ya know? Oh, shush, here comes Mr. Pie-Hole."

Kagome barely managed to choke down her laughter before Henry took his place at the podium. The buzz of conversations faded out to whispers as he began jabbering on about how it'd been a pleasure working with all of them this past year and the success of Grandeur had been tremendous and hoped that the success would continue to to rise, especially with their biggest challenge ahead in the form of the rich brat who's name Kagome completely missed from the big yawn that suddenly seized her. She wished he would speed his bullshit speech along so she wouldn't drown in tears of utter boredom.

" – so, my friends, to celebrate this biggest honor, please enjoy the food I have provided you in the back." Then, with mocking seriousness, he added, "Then get back to work."

Sango wasted no time on modesty. She piled her plate high and joined Kagome at a table beside glass panels overlooking the highrises of Tokyo.

"So, look," Sango said as she gulped down a massive bite of a chicken wing, "since today's Thursday and tomorrow's Friday, I thought we could go downtown tonight and celebrate a little."

"Celebrate because Thursday means Friday and Friday means two days of Henry-free environments?"

She said through a mouthful of bread, "Yah, tho waddya thay?".

"Sure, why the hell not. And don't smack. You look like a cow."

Sango smiled at her friend with bread-infested teeth. "Thath whaye I luff ya." She made a show of having to swallow the rather large lump of food down her throat. "But don't you dare leave me behind for some random Brad Pitt lookalike you just met and can't keep your hands off of. I'll make you pay."

"Oh, don't worry," Kagome waved, "I think Miroku was enough to last me this rest of this week."

Water nearly sputtered from Sango's mouth. "So you _did_ sleep with him!" she squealed. "I knew it! He was good, wasn't he?"

Kagome just had to roll her eyes. "Can you be any louder? And it really all depends on how experienced you are, but yeah I suppose he was better than the average guy. Then again, I don't make a habit of sleeping with average guys. I like my men how I like my meat – rare."

Sango laughed. "Yeah, even when it's not a hundred percent healthy for you."

"Well, I never bothered with healthy habits. Why start now?"

"I dunno. Better late than never I guess."

. . .

The bar that Sango suggested they go to that night was, in a word, surprising. It was different than the loud and crowded atmosphere she usually picked. This one was quiet and low-key; the sound of tinkling glass was louder than the murmur of conversations. Too add to the atmosphere, soft, seductive jazz music played somewhere in the back.

Kagome suspected Sango of picking this place for one of three reasons. One: she was meeting someone here and wanted her company. Two: she _wanted _to meet someone here and tricked her into coming along. Three: she was just pinning for something different. Kagome truly hoped for the latter. Though, with the nervous eye glances Sango threw around the place, Kagome suspected she had something up her sleeve.

"Okay spill, sister," Kagome finally said, setting her martini glass on the counter. "What are we here for?"

Sango looked over at her. "Well..." she drawled sheepishly. "Okay, you caught me. I'm supposed to be meeting someone here. He should be here any minute now."

_Figures_, Kagome mentally grunted. _And she dragged me into it cause she's a chicken shit. _Ah, well, what were friends for? To hold thy hand in time of desperate need for a good lay.

"He happened to be my brother's friend's cousin's uncle," she went on, brushing a lock of hair from her face. "We met on some dating website. Small world, huh?"

"The internet? Wow, Sango. Can you get any lamer?"

She shot her look full of daggers. "Well for your information, I don't have the looks or the gall to snag whatever guy off the street and fuck him till the sun comes up – "

"_First_ of all," Kagome interrupted, "I don't snag whatever guy off the street. I _am_ meticulous about who I sleep with and who I don't. It just so happens that I'm lucky enough to spot the good guys a lot. That's all."

"How in the world can you tell the good guy from the bad just by looking at him?" Sango asked, a bit too dubious for Kagome to _not_ feel offended.

"Well, if you _must_ know, it's the way they hold themselves, the gestures they make, the eye glances – all in the right moments. And, of course, what comes out of their mouth. If you know what to look for, nine times out of ten you'll find it."

"Well why would you leave that kind of guy after one night? Most women keep guys worth sleeping with at first glance."

Kagome took a swig of her martini and shrugged, placing her elbows on the counter. "I guess I like to keep my options open. Explore the seas, ya know?"

"Most women don't have that kind of luxury."

"What do you mean?"

Just as Sango opened her mouth to answer her, a man appeared beside her. "Sango?" he asked.

Sango swiveled and instantly looked as if her brain suddenly fell out of her skull and shattered somewhere below her. "Uhh...Hi!"

The corners of his mouth wrinkled into a laugh. "Hi. I see you've brought a friend with you." His eyes glanced Kagome's way and politely stretched his hand towards her. "I'm Taiji."

His tall, dark and handsome get-up had Kagome blinking hard. It wasn't difficult to tell Sango had just scored herself the jackpot, dating website or not. Collecting herself, she shook his hand. "I'm Kagome. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he said, taking his place beside Sango and smiling at her. "You look lovelier in person. Your picture didn't do you a bit of justice."

Sango couldn't keep the cheesy smile off her face. "I guess you could blame all my loveliness on the pounds of food I eat daily," she laughed.

It was a rare thing to witness Sango smitten beyond the decency to avoid being corny. Granted, this man _was_ quite the eye-candy with his sleek suit, taunt shoulders, and dazzling smile. Kagome pleasantly watched the two of them talk about nothing and everything and insisted they carry on their conversation when they'd forgotten about her and endeavored to include her in their conversation. Gradually, as the night wore on, they were giggling to each other and brushing body parts – to which Kagome politely turned away from. And to which she also noticed a rather exotic-looking man sitting at the end of the bar counter.

Remembering her promise to her dearly beloved friend, she dutifully tried to keep her eyes off of him. But, _really_, the guy was too sexy to be healthy for any woman's eyes. She caught herself sneaking glances at him over the rim of her several martini glasses. Having Sango and her new man-friend flirt in front of her was making her hot and bothered, not to mention the alcohol buzz. With enough self-control, she manged to retain her poise and not saunter over to the man who was now throwing glances her way.

In the mirror behind the bar counter, she saw him suddenly rise from his chair, throw a bill on the counter, and begin walking in her direction. Her heart jolted and she quickly cast her eyes down to the empty glass in front of her.

"Isn't that right, Kagome?" Sango suddenly asked her.

Kagome's eyes jerked to her friend. "What?"

"Our boss," she said. "An asshole, right?"

Kagome felt the rush of air as the man passed behind her. Her eyes fluttered and bit down hard on her check. "Yeah," she murmured. "Complete asshole."

Sango raised a brow at her but shrugged and turned back to Taiji. "See? What'd I tell you?"

"I believe you," he laughed.

Kagome grabbed her clutch and said to the two of them, "Gotta run to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

She wasn't sure they heard her but neither did she particularly care. She rose from the chair with a single-minded purpose and walked towards the bathroom, where ever that was. Her eyes scouted the place for the exotic man, but he was no where in sight. Disappointment lanced through her as she spotted the restroom sign hanging above a short, dark hallway. _Oh well it was fun while it lasted_, she thought and rounded the dark corner.

She stopped short.

The man stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall.

Briefly, she wondered if he'd been there waiting and knew she'd be coming or if coincidences really existed. He looked up at her and suddenly the alcohol in her system seemed to make her body heavy and the world cockeyed. Although his face was unsmiling, the deep attentiveness of his eyes seemed to be saying one thing: _I caught you._ Somewhere in the back of her mind where her conscious still existed, she realized she'd dropped her clutch. He walked forward, picked her clutch from off the ground, and handed back to her. He never looked away from her face.

She kept her eyes on him as she lifted her clutch from his hand and watched his lips curl when she made a point of brushing his fingers. "Thank you," she said.

"Come here often?" he asked.

"No. I came here with a friend."

"The woman or the man?"

It took effort to keep the smile off her face. "The woman."

"She's pretty."

"She's taken."

"Are you?"

She felt a thrill of pleasure run down her body. "Not at all," she said.

"I have a hotel not far from here. Care to join me?"

"As long as it's quick."

"It never is."

She bit her lip to hide her smile. "Lead the way."


	2. Deja Vu

**Tango In Tokyo  
_Chapter 2: Deja Vu _  
**

Kagome rushed into work with her gallon of coffee one minute to clock-in time, looking the epitome of a woman who'd just spent the night in someone's bed: tousled hair, wrinkled clothes, and a secret smile that said _I can't believe it was that good._ The moment Sango spotted her, she threw her bagel down onto her plate, dropped it in the trash, and stomped over to Kagome's desk.

"Where the hell did you go last night?" she hissed at her.

Kagome looked up at her with big eyes as she set her bag inside her desk drawer. "Uh..."

"You promised me you wouldn't leave me for a Brad Pitt lookalike!"

"Okay, _one_, I didn't even say I left with anyone; two, he was more of a Brad Pitt dipped in Antonio Banderres sauce; and three, I was slightly intoxicated, what did you expect?"

Sango made an exaggeration motion of rolling her eyes.

"Why are you even upset? It's not like I left you alone. You were with your man-friend, remember?"

"That...That's not the point."

Kagome raised an amused brow and gave her friend a once-over. "Oh really now? Cause it seems to me I wasn't the only one who gave as good she got last night."

Sango flushed red and tried hiding her smile through balled lips. "Don't even go there," she said, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"So how was he?" Kagome asked sweetly.

Sango took a moment to pretend to fume and pressed her lips together. Then, she sat on Kagome's desk and leaned forward. "Oh my god," she whispered and nearly exploded into a fit of teenage giggles. "He is _amazing_."

Kagome smiled and nodded. "See? I knew it."

"No, no, we didn't sleep together, but god I wanted to when we went back to my place. He said he wanted to go slow though, which made me like him even more. _Ugh_. A perfect guy like him seems too good to be true. Makes me wonder if he has anything up his sleeve."

"Like what?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. But we're supposed to be going to this really snazzy restaurant tonight." She jumped up. "Oh! That reminds me, you sneaky bitch. He paid for your _seven_ martinis last night when the bartender said something about your bill."

"Oh." Kagome couldn't help but laugh. "I was so distracted last night. I'll pay him back."

Sango waved her hand. "Whatever. So, tell me about the guy you left with."

Kagome rested her chin her hand. "All I know is that he's rich and godly at sex. Other than that..." She shrugged. "I left before he woke up this morning."

"Oh, too bad."

"At least I gave him a night to remember." Kagome grinned. "He was sitting at the same bar we were."

"Oh gag me with a spoon. Don't tell me he was that blonde at the other end giving you naughty glances?"

"You noticed him?"

"Just a little. I noticed him once while I was talking to Taiji and again when he was heading out." Sango thought of his face for a second and then gave a low whistle. "He has that kind of face that belongs on billboards instead of bars."

Kagome yawned and gave a little stretch. "Yeah, well, hopefully I won't see him on any billboards anytime soon. Now, shoo, I have to finish up this damn Nakayami article."

"Oh puke, the leaching bimbo of the century. Have a blast," Sango teased as she walked away.

Kagome muttered and placed her fingers on her temple. She felt the throbbing pressure of an oncoming migraine.

–

Inuyasha completely, unconditionally, wholeheartedly _hated_ city buses. Almost to phobia degree. It was probably a mutual thing, too.

That damn woman had taken his keys and wallet, and whether or not it had been intentional was irrelevant. He would hunter her down and demand that she return his possessions to him. Never mind she had been the sexiest thing with legs last night. Never mind that he wished she had left something for him to contact her again. He was riding the _city_ _bus_, damn it. Heirs of billion-dollar conglomerates did _not_ ride city buses.

Ever_._

With a screeching halt, the bus stopped in front of his destination. He none-too-politely pardoned himself off the bus of ogling strangers and walked up to the building with shiny, metallic letters of _Taisho Communications, Inc._ engraved to the front. He jogged up the stairs and into the lobby where he stepped inside the elevators. Pressing for the fourteenth floor more times than necessary, he tapped his foot impatiently against the floor as he waited. When the doors finally slid open with a cheery _ding, _the receptionist gave one glance at him and immediately jumped up from her seat.

"Mr. Taisho, sir!" she hurried towards him and bowed politely. "It's so good to see you. The Chairman has been expecting you. Right this way, please – "

"I can manage," he said quickly, brushing past the woman. He barged through the doors of the conference room. "Brother!" he exclaimed, sweeping his arms out.

Hunched over the table with the latest financial reports, Sesshoumaru Taisho glanced up at his brother from beneath his brows. "Wipe that smile off your face, Inuyasha. You're _late_."

"I couldn't help it. My keys and wallet were stolen," he said irritably as he dropped into one of the leather chairs. "I had to ride the city bus here."

Dropping his pen onto the table, Sesshoumaru leaned back in his chair and smoldered the man in front of him with a glare. "Let me guess – you met a woman, were stupid enough to let her back in your hotel room so you could fuck her, and now, because she realized all the money you freely prance around with, she stole your keys and wallet while you were asleep."

Inuyasha stared a his brother for a moment and then shrugged. "Probably not completely accurate but whatever."

"Do I need to remind you," Sesshoumaru snapped, "that you are here in Japan on _official_ business? That this is _not_ another one of your ridiculous vacations?"

"I know that, but my car is still parked at the fucking bar and my credit cards are probably being maxed out at the moment. _Excuse_ me if I seem a little frustrated."

"You can search for your keys and wallet another time. Right now, you are to meet with the board for your new position as director of the magazine department."

–

Arriving home after work, Kagome threw her things somewhere in the living room and plopped down onto her bed.

"Uggghhhhmmmmm..." she groaned, stretching her cramped body. "Come here, Stick." She plucked her white cat from off her pillow and placed him on her chest. When he tried to scamper away, she threw her arms over him and held him down. He flattened his ears and glared at her. "Oh don't be like that," she told him. "I keep you alive. Appreciate me."

He glared more.

She hugged him to her chest and rolled over onto her stomach. When she slid off the bed and stood, he scrambled down from her arms and nicked her skin. "Oow!" she squealed and inspected the blood on her arm. She glared at the cat as he sprung to his favorite place on the windowsill. He ignored her and began licking his paw.

"Stupid, good for nothing..." she mumbled. and sighed when she heard her phone ringing. Sango flashed in the screen. "Hey, what's up?"

"Be ready in an hour," Sango said.

Kagome's brows rose. "For?"

"Taiji invited you to dinner. He's such a sweetheart, isn't he?"

"O...kay. Are we meeting or...?"

"Yeah, meet us at La Calle de Rosa. See ya there."

Kagome placed the phone back in its cradle and just as she turned to go, the phone rang again. Assuming it was Sango, she picked up and said, "I'm _not_ going to be la—"

"Higurashi? It's Henry."

She blinked. "Oh...hey, Henry," she said uncertainly. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you to run a hard copy of your article by my office. I know its a little late, but my computer just went blank on me and I can't access your article until tomorrow morning when the techies come in."

Kagome inwardly groaned. _Great._ "I'll be right there."

Kagome got ready in a rush and hailed a taxi all the way into the heart of Tokyo. Inside the Taisho Com building, the place bustled with activity. It was odd because of the unusual hour of the evening. She made her way to Henry's office on the fifth floor and tapped lightly on the door.

"Come in," came the muffled invitation.

She stepped inside and placed the copy of her article on his desk.

"Thanks. You look nice. A date?"

"Dinner with Sango," she said distractedly as she watched three men barrel past the glass windows with bulky boxes. "Say, what's all this commotion going on?"

He glanced towards the windows. "Oh, that. A new director for our magazine department."

"Oh?" She looked at him with raised brows.

"Yeah. Roger was transferred to the entertainment and syndication department. Supposedly, a _young and highly-important_ figure is going to be replacing him. His words exactly."

"How come they haven't made any announcements on this?" she asked.

"They probably will come Monday."

"Hm." Kagome glanced at her wrist watch. "Jeez, I should be going. Sango is gunna kill me."

Henry chuckled. "Appreciated this, Higurashi."

"Yeah, no problem!" she said as she closed the door behind her and took off running towards the elevator. "Hold the door!" she yelled to the man who just stepped inside. A thick, long arm shot out and held the door open as she rushed inside.

"Thank you so..." She faltered as she looked at the man, who looked so eerily familiar. "...much," she finished uncertainly. She frowned at him. "Do I...know you?"

The tall, stoic man looked at her without the slightest recognition. With a small, brief movement of his large shoulders, he shrugged. "Perhaps you have seen my face in the press," he said.

She studied his face blatantly and thought hard. Billboards, window panes, newspapers, magazines, news programs... "Oh, Chairman! Forgive my manners," she said quickly, bowing, "I didn't recognize you. You look so much different on television, and I – "

He held up his hand to quiet her rambling and smiled politely. "It's alright. It's not everyday I travel here from Osaka headquarters. First floor?"

"What? Oh, yes." She laughed nervously and studied him from the side as they descended.

Although he made certain to keep his personal life out of the own media he produced, other media conglomerates didn't hesitate to elaborate on his cold, aloof personality. But standing right next to him seemed to put him in a different light; he stood in such a open, regal manner that it seemed hard to mistake it as cold and aloof. And there was something else about him that bothered her, something or someone –

"Ladies first," he said.

What? She blinked and looked at the open doors."Oh, right," she said before darting out. Slightly embarrassed, she turned and looked at him. "To be frank, seeing you in person is a bit...uh, fazing."

His laughter quietly rumbled behind his smile. "That's understandable, Miss...?" he prompted.

"Kagome Higurashi," she informed, "a journalist of Grandeur."

"It's been a pleasure, Miss Higurashi. I've got a flight to Osaka to catch. Perhaps we will encounter each other again."

She bowed politely. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Chairman." She watched as he walked away with brisk strides. In her pocket, her cellphone vibrated. She fished it out and flipped it open. "Sango! So sorry, I'm on my way."

–

Mondays at work was like biting into a lemon first thing in the morning. Nothing short of entirely unpleasant. Not to mention the _insane_ buzz blowing around Kagome like wild fire. As Henry had predicted, an official announcement of the magazine department's new director had been released Sunday morning. Inuyasha Taisho, youngest son of the recently deceased Ken Taisho and brother to Taisho Communication's current CEO, Sesshoumaru Taisho, was currently in his newly furnished office.

Inuyasha Taisho had spent the past eleven years in the United States for some unapparent reason of "vacationing." Rumors of this supposed vacationing were vicious. Some speculated that he really had been hiding from Japanese authority over legal matters; other say he was hiding from some random woman he impregnated after a wild party and several drinks. Rumors had him as quite the drinker. How or why Sesshoumaru Taisho would appoint a drunk or convict as the new head of the magazine department didn't make sense, which led Kagome to believe that all the rumors were hideously false. As per usual.

But something wouldn't stop bothering Kagome. In an attempt to ignore it, she kept her mind heavily focused on outlining ideas for next month's magazine articles. The theme was "Coming Clean" in accordance with Spring season. This meant confessions from readers, public exploit stories, novels of the like, the whole nine yards. Maybe she could –

The phone on her desk rang.

"Kagome speaking," she answered.

"Come see me in my office." It was Henry.

"Be right there," she said and promptly headed towards his office. She stuck her head inside. "You needed to see me?"

He rose from his chair with a folder tucked under his arm. "Yes, but walk with me to get some coffee."

"O...kay," she said hesitantly.

"I was impressed by your Nakayami article," he told her as they walked towards the elevators.

"You _were_?" When he looked at her, she said, "I mean...Haha! You _were_. Thank you."

"Now, I know it's not exactly my job to do this, but I wanted to suggest an idea for your next month's article. I think our readers would love it."

She didn't particularly like suggestions or requests of any kind, but just to humor him, she asked, "What is it?"

He handed her the folder. "As you know, next month's magazine will include an exclusive on Kouga Fukimori – "

"Who?"

He gave her a look. "The famous actor? I mentioned him in yesterday's meeting."

Yesterday...meeting...long speech...tears of boredom... "Oh, _right_, I remember!" she tittered. "Silly me."

"I've set up an interview with him for the fourth of Feburary. That's in three days." They stopped in front of the elevators. He looked at her. "I want you to do the interview."

"Me?" she said weakly.

"Yes. Inside the folder is just about all the information my assistant could dig up on up on him. So what do you say?"

The elevator whirred to a stop and the doors prepared to open.

Kagome looked down at the folder, scanning all of the clippings that had Kouga Takahashi all over it. "I honestly don't know what to say. I haven't even watched any of his movies, and I know I'm going to have to watch all of them before the interview. From the looks of these article, he has a pretty big female fanbase all over the world and everyone knows those are a _bitch_ to upset and I'll have a huge mass of rabid fans coming after me with pitchforks and torches _ohmygod_!"

Kagome froze at the threshold of the elevator at the same time the doors began to close. It collided into her and nearly sent her sprawling to the floor. Henry grabbed her arm to steady her as she pushed the elevator door away and stared in shock at the man inside the elevator.

Inuyasha Taisho bent down to pick up the scattered papers and handed them back to a flustered Kagome.

Her eyes fluttered against the deja vu. "_What_ the hell...!"


	3. Look what the cat dragged in

**Tango In Tokyo  
_Chapter 3: Look What The Cat Dragged In_  
**

Inuyasha Taisho usually didn't look so thoroughly confused and shocked as he currently was, but in his current situation, there was nothing more appropriate than that. Standing in the hallway because standing in the elevator had proven to be too hazardous, the first thing he said to Kagome was, "You stole my keys and wallet."

Kagome blinked. "What?" she said.

He scoffed haughtily, turned towards Henry and politely asked, "Would you excuse us for a moment?"

Henry, baffled as they were if not more, looked at Kagome, then at Inuyasha, and then took the stairs down to the cafeteria. Once he was safely out of hearing range, Inuyasha turned back to Kagome and sized her up with his eyes.

It was outrageous. He was the spitting image of Sesshoumaru Taisho. Kagome wanted to laugh but couldn't find the humor, so she folded her arms and, without proper thought-processing, blurted, "What are you doing in here?"

"I work here. Why are _you_ in here?"

"Clearly, so do I. And what do you mean, I took your keys and wallet?"

"Don't play stupid. You took my keys and wallet the morning you left."

It was her turn for a haughty scoff. "The hell I did."

"I asked you to put it in your clutch that night and the next morning you walked off with it," he said.

She blinked at him. Now that he mentioned it, she _might_ have accidentally taken his stuff, but too many fuzzy memories were clashing, some less desired at the moment than others. She would have laughed had she not felt so shocked and slightly out of her mind."Well, _that_ was a really stupid thing to do," she said.

"Well I – _we_ – were a little intoxicated that night, but I certainly won't repeat what happened and _don't_ roll your eyes at me like that. I had to ride the _city_ _bus_."

"Oh boo-hoo_,_" she muttered.

"The least you could have done was leave me a note or something. Any _decent_ person would leave a note saying 'Hey, had a great time last night, here's my phone number' or anything _useful_ like that."

"You expect me to tell you I had a great time? And for your information, I do not leave my phone number behind for strangers."

He raised a brow. "You certainly don't mind fucking them. And we'd both know you'd be lying if you said you didn't have a great time that night."

She shrugged at him, as if to say _You tell me_.

He folded his arms. "So?"

"So _what_?"

"When am I going to get my stuff back?"

She sighed exasperatingly. "I don't know. I'm not even sure what I did with my clutch. Maybe I threw it over a bridge or something."

"For your sake, I hope you didn't."

"And if I did?"

Inuyasha took a breath to oxygenate the part of his brain that desperately wanted to toss her off of the roof of this building. At the end of the hall, several people had passed them with curious glances that couldn't be good for either of them. He cleared his throat and shifted. "Look, neither of us wants to blow this way out of proportion. What happened the other night was obviously a mistake. I say let's can the crap so we can get this thing settled. Agreed?"

She shook her head and shrugged. "Whatever. Fine."

"Alright. Do you have your cellphone on you?"

She nodded and he held his hand out to her. When she just stared at it, he jerked his hand impatiently.

"Come on, give it here. I don't have all day," he said.

Shaking her head—she _really_ could not believe her luck—she withdrew her cellphone from her pocket, placed it in his palm, and curiously watched him fiddle around with her phone. When he was done, he flipped it shut and handed it back to her.

"There, now you have my phone number. _As soon _as you find my things, make sure to call me. Is that understood?"

She gave him a look that bordered on murder and disgust.

"Yeah, me too cupcake," he said.

–

"I can't _find_ it, Stick!" Kagome told her cat as she rummaged through her room.

He yawned and stretched himself out on her pillow.

"Oh yeah, real cute. I should throw you outside," she grumbled as she dropped the pile of clothes from her arms onto the floor. "Ugh! What the hell did I _do_ with it?"

Having to retrace her steps to last Friday morning was easier said than done. To make matters worse, the overwhelming desire to punch Inuyasha Taisho in the face made it difficult to not slap and slam and throw and _crush_ every object that passed through her hand. To think she had screwed the guy! _Honestly_. Godly bed skills or not, next time she would at least get a name before she slept with anyone with his head that far up his ass.

Or maybe he just needed a little more daily alcohol, shake him a bit looser. He seemed far more easy-going halfway drunk than sober.

No matter, her task of figuring out where she'd placed her clutch that morning was the first on her to-do list. After that, maybe she'd consider giving him a black eye along with his keys and wallet.

_Okay, think Kagome think_, she thought and paused to go over the events of last Friday in her head. ..._got home, checked phone messages, took a shower, dressed into work clothes, ate breakfast, and went to work... checked phone messages, took a shower... threw my clothes and clutch on the floor _before_ I took a shower..._ She glanced around her floor.

But it wasn't _there_!

She sighed exasperatingly and threw herself on her bed, staring listlessly at the ceiling. She was done for. She really _had_ lost her clutch. Inuyasha Taisho didn't seem like the type of guy to let her off the hook without making her pay for it. She shut her eyes and groaned. Shouldn't God or Buddha or _someone_ up there have mercy on her?

She sighed and sat up, staring dejectedly at the clothes strewn around her room. She supposed now was as good a time as ever to clean up. Dragging herself from her bed, she shuffled the clothes with her feet towards the hamper in the bathroom –

She froze. The hamper...the goddamn _hamper_!

With sudden liveliness she tore into her bathroom, her socked-feet slipping across the tiles, and swung the lid of her hamper open. "A_ha_!" she yelled victoriously.

–

The vibrating cellphone on the coffee table unceremoniously jarred Inuyasha from his nap. With a groan he rolled off the couch, fumbled for his phone, and flipped it open "What?" he croaked.

"I found it!"

He frowned at his phone and rubbed away the sleep in his eyes. "Who is this?"

"Kagome..." She added under her breath, "Idiot."

Oh. _Oh! _His eyes shot open. "Kagome! You found my things? Oh, _good_. Come to my hotel. Do you remember where it is?"

"Sorta, but why do I have to come to you?"

"Because you were the one who took it so you're going to be the one to bring it back."

Kagome scoffed. "How p– "

"Room 704. Get here ASAP." He flipped the phone shut and threw it on the couch. _Yes!_ he thought victoriously as he stretched his arms high over his head. For the past few days, his luck had taken a shit on him and now it's taken a turn for the better.

After a moment's thought, he walked over to the hotel phone and dialed room service. "A bottle of your finest wine," he said, paused and then added, "and an arrangement of chocolate. ...What? No, all of them will do. Mhm. Thank you." After he hung up, he walked into the bathroom and checked himself in the mirror. He checked his teeth, smoothed his hair back, straightened his clothes –

He stopped and sniffed his clothes. Pondering the idea for a minute, he quickly doffed his clothes and jumped in the shower. Ten minutes later, he came out feeling like a freshly pampered baby – a very sexy pampered adult baby preparing for a another night of –

A knock on the front door.

He froze for a moment, then chuckled to himself as he realized it was most likely room service than Kagome. He tightened the towel around his waist before swinging the door open...to a woman, who, although was not Kagome, blushed a very lovely shade of red at his half-nakedness. She looked down at the floor as she wheeled the small, decorative cart inside.

"Whoa, wait," Inuyasha said, placing his hand on the end of the cart. "Uh...Is it okay if I just take the wine and the chocolate? I don't need this cart."

"Sure. No problem," she mumbled.

"Thank you," he said and he took the wine from the shiny, silver bucket and the basket of chocolate.

"Enjoy," she said and closed the door behind her.

He set his seduction tools on the kitchen counter. It was probably a bad idea, but there was no serious harm in seducing the woman who _probably_ didn't mean to take his keys and wallet. So what if he told her he wouldn't repeat that night? So what if she was a bit difficult to deal with? All the feistier in bed. The second chance to shag that tiger of a woman was dancing in his face. In a parallel world where sex was a religion, it would be sacrilege to pass up a chance like that.

Inuyasha Taisho was most certainly not a sacrilegist.

–

The sight of the elegantly lighted hallway made Kagome nervous. She never thought she would be seeing it again, but here she was...seeing it..._again_... She strolled to a stop in front of room 704 and rapped her knuckles lightly on the door.

Inuyasha swung the door open with a serene smile. Though, when he surveyed her gray gym pants and off-white t-shirt, the smile fell a little. "What...are you wearing?" he asked her.

"Clothes," she answered with a lifted brow, speculating on whether or not he expected to see her in a red dress and strappy heals. Then she gave his clothes a once-over. "What are _you_ wearing?"

He looked down at himself. "I...just came from a...party," he lied.

She raised her brows but didn't comment further on it. She stuck her hand inside her purse and fumbled around for his keys and wallet.

"Hey, uh," he said slowly, "why don't you come inside for sec?"

She stopped and peered up at him curiously. "No, I've got to get back h–"

"Nonsense." He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her inside.

"_Hey_, don't put your hands on me like that!" She placed her hand on the door frame and resisted.

"_Come_ inside," he insisted, tugging.

"_No_."

"Come _on_."

"I said _no_!" She wrenched her arm out of his grip. "What is _wrong_ with you!"

"Kagome," he said as if it were an order and gave her a deadpan expression.

Without warning, he encircled her waist with his arm and hauled her inside. He shut the door with his foot and turned to her.

"Now that you're here...wine?" he grinned and gestured to the two glasses on the kitchen counter.

She glared at him in confusion and attempted to dissect his mental behavior. She glanced at the half-filled wine glass and said, "No thanks."

"Alright, suit yourself," he said in mock disappointment. He lifted one of the glasses and took a sip. "Mmm. It's good."

She sighed impatiently. "Why am I in here?" she asked.

"To return my things to me, of course." When she opened her mouth to speak, he cut her off, "_And_ I think we should talk about what happened the other night. Why don't you come from by the door and sit here on the couch?"

"No, because I'm prepared to run."

"Don't be silly. We should take responsibility for our actions and get to know each other a little more. What's your favorite candy?"

For a long, silent moment, she stared at him with a look Inuyasha knew to be the sort of irate bafflement one would look at a masturbating monkey with. Which he couldn't help feeling offended from. He might whack off from morning to morning – most times he had no choice in the matter – but he most certainly did _not_ look like a monkey. She spun around for the door and only opened it to a crack before he came from behind her and jerked it shut.

"Now, now, Kagome," he placed an arm around her shoulder and dragged her towards the living room, "don't be overly hasty. Why don't we relax here?"

He more or less shoved her down onto the hard couch. When she didn't seem like she was going to sprint for the door, he made himself comfortable on the adjacent couch, throwing his arm against the back edge and propping his leg on his knee. He grinned at her glare of daggers.

"_So_," he said cheerfully, "I know we didn't exactly get off to a good start, so allow me to introduce myself. I'm Inuyasha Taisho, son of – "

" – Ken Taisho, director of the magazine department of Taisho Communications," Kagome finished for him with a nasty tone that made his sexual appetite shrivel. She folded her arms and sat back against the couch. "You know...you don't seem very professional. You sure your cut out for the job?"

It was his turn to glare at her. "Let's keep opinions about who's cut out for what job to ourselves."

She raised her brows. After a moment, the infuriating grin returned to his face. His lifted his wine glass from the coffee table and swirled it around contemplatively.

"What kind of hobbies and interests do you have?" he asked.

"Oh you know," she said airily, "bondage, bestiality, masochism, self-mutilation, satanic rituals – "

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated. Can we at least have a sincere conversation like two adults?"

"For your information, I did not come here to have a sincere, heart-to-heart chat with the random guy I screwed half drunk and most certainly did not come here to be _seduced_ by said guy." Kagome scrutinized him from head to toe. "Don't think I don't know what your up to. Your seduction techniques are unimpressive."

"_Oh_, like you could do better?" he snapped.

She returned the hard tone. "I _could_ do better, except I make it a point to not sleep with the same guy twice."

"What, is that your modus operandi or something?"

"It _is_, in fact, and I've never broken it either."

"Oh, I see. You're the fuck-em-and-leave-em type woman."

She gave a frustrated sigh and looked straight at him. "Ok, _sure_, I did have a great time that night. But that's _As. Far. As. It. Goes._" She rummaged through her purse and tossed his keys and wallet to him. "I really didn't mean to take those or for things to get out of hand. If I knew who you were that night, I wouldn't have slept with you."

He stared cryptically at her as she stood and walked towards the kitchen counter. She lifted the glass of wine and downed it in one gulp with a backwards jerk of her head.

"Goodnight, Mr. Taisho," she said and missed his flinch as she walked out of the hotel room.


	4. You asked for it

**Tango In Tokyo  
_Chapter 4: You Asked For It_  
**

"I want her fired. Today."

Henry gaped in shock at Inuyasha. "M-Mr. Taisho...what is the meaning of this? Surely, whatever wrong she has done she can compensate for."

"Not with what I have in mind."

"But _sir_...she is among our best journalists. She is scheduled to interview Kouga Fukimori. Letting her go at a time like this would essentially devastate our plans!"

"Kouga can suck a ham for all I care. His movies are shit anyways. Kagome Higurashi is replaceable. You're editor-in-chief. You can make it happen."

Henry leaned forward in the leather chair and placed his hands on Inuyasha's desk. "Mr. Taisho, with all due respect, I cannot support your decision on this."

"Fine then. You're fired too."

Henry's eyes widened. "_Mr. Taisho!_"

"Oh, I'm just kiddin," Inuyasha waved.

Henry breathed a sigh of relief.

"She's still fired though."

–

Kagome stared at the scattered papers on her desk, all about Kouga Fukimori. With three awards in his five-year acting career, he was off to a pretty impressive start. His background seemed a wee bit cliché though: unknown parents and a rich uncle the current president of Fujita Motors Corporation. It seemed dear uncle cherished his nephew enough to endorse his feature in the April release of Grandeur. Other than that, he was the typical hunk of a guy all high school girls wet their panties at night obsessing over, good movies or not. And like most actors in their careers, Kouga had both under his belt.

Kagome leaned back in her chair and tapped her pen against her desk. They were scheduled to have lunch today at a remote restaurant reserved exclusively for wealthy people. Surprising? Hardly. She just hoped the interview went well because she'd be paying for her meal with this week's whole paycheck.

Glancing at her watch, she gathered her things and headed downstairs.

The ride to the restaurant was short – both a good thing and a bad thing. Good, because she was early. Bad, because being early didn't give her much time to hold her scattered nerves together. After five minutes of trying to find the entrance, she walked inside and felt an instant connection with the place.

The labyrinth of walls were a sleek gray stone that seemed to emphasize the gleaming white floors. White daylight spilled in from ceiling windows speckled from end to end, the only windows in the restaurant. The small tables were metal and glass, and the cushion chairs were a crisp white. The outlay of the place offered two things: simplicity and privacy. Kagome couldn't help but love it.

In a far corner, she spotted Kouga Fukimori just as he spotted her. For a several seconds, she stared dumbly at him.

She remembered his pictures like a healthy mind wouldn't, but none of them matched the face she now looked at. He looked like an army officer – the muscular, no-nonsense looking type. The shaggy hair usually whipped around his face was pulled back into a small, taut ponytail at the nape of his neck. He sat straight against the chair, hands resting serenely in his lap. She wasn't sure how long she'd been staring, but she suspected too long when he took the initiative to wave her over. She walked to the table, stuffing her female hormones into a mental closet and locking it shut.

Now was the time for a business matters.

"I guess my staring made me a bit obvious," she said as she took her seat across from him.

A smile wrinkled the corners of his mouth. In his pictures, his smiles were picture-perfect. Right now, it was daring and amused.

He stretched his hand towards her. "Kouga Fukimori," he greeted.

She shook his hand, briefly noting the roughness of it. "Kagome Higurashi," she returned. She reached into her bag, brought her recorder out and switched it on. She looked at him. "I must say, you're different from your photos."

"Less doll-ish?" he asked.

"More masculine."

"Ah...you are too, ya know."

"More masculine?"

He laughed. "More woman...if that makes any sense."

"Makes perfect sense. You looked at my photo?"

He shrugged. "Had to make sure you weren't psychotic looking."

"I'm sure Nannie Doss was just as normal looking as I am."

"That is true. But looking didn't hurt."

A waiter chose that moment to stroll by their table and get their orders. Before Kagome opened her mouth, Kouga ordered a large plate of bread sticks and marinara sauce and a big plate of onion rings for them to share.

"I'm surprised they would have that on menu," Kagome said after the waiter walked away. "With being a high class restaurant and all. Maybe they're cooked with bread made of gold?"

Kouga seemed amused by this and asked to her, "Do you think the wealthy limit themselves to what kind of food they can have?"

"No, I just – I don't know. I had this assumption that people with a lot of money eat..." She shrugged. "..._elegantly_, to put it crudely."

He laughed. "Only idiots who want to establish _status _or whatever they want to call it limit themselves to 'high-class' food. But that's the beauty of making money. You can have whatever you want, regardless of price – low or high."

Kagome looked at him in mild surprise – not because she felt as if she just discovered something new, but because she felt as if she had always known that and was only reminded of it. She lightly shook her head and said, "Low or high. I like how you put that. And that's something only a proud person could say."

"Oh. I'm a very proud person." He flashed a feral smile at her.

"I can imagine," she said. "Winner of three awards in less than five years already, what's the feeling?"

"Being recognized for good work is always appreciated."

She repeated his words in her head. Always appreciated? That was what someone would say about their mother, not their symbol of success. "Would you say it's your motivator?" she asked.

He should his head and looked at her as if it were a preposterous thing to even consider. "Absolutely not. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like them, but they're not what keeps me going. If winning awards was my motivator, I would never shoot as high as I could." He sat back and smiled at nothing in particular. "I think of it as a nice side of coke and fries along with my burger."

Kagome laughed at the metaphor. As soon as the waiter brought their food to them, they indulged wholeheartedly, all modesty aside.

The interview went on for half an hour as scheduled and an extended forty-five minutes, just because he fascinated her so much. She briefly mentioned his background to which he didn't elaborate much on and shrugged it off. "My hardships don't shape me, my success does," he said. He was the type of man she'd take home to her bed in a heartbeat, but the thought of sleeping with him as she had with other men seemed outrageous. At the end of the interview, she switched the recorder off and tucked it inside her bag.

"Off the record, what do you think about all those fangirls practically drooling over you?" Kagome asked him.

He ran his hand over the stubble on his jaw and laughed with genuine amusement. "In all honesty, it's sort of funny cause I know if any one of them ever met me, they'd think I was an asshole."

"I don't think you're a asshole."

"You're not much of a fangirl, either. Which makes me like you."

If she were any other woman, she would've probably broken down right then and invited him back to her apartment. But she wasn't sure how to react to that so she played indifferent. "You'd be an asshole to your fans?" she asked.

"Mmmm..." he hummed in contemplation. "I think people expect me to be this prince charming guy, but in reality, I'm not the type of person to spare feelings. Some may call it being an asshole. I call it being honest."

Kagome was silent for a moment. "Mind if I keep that on record?" she asked.

He made a gesture as if to say, _You call the shots. _She flipped out her notebook and jotted it down quickly.

"While you have your pen and paper out, jot your phone number down for me," he said to her.

Puzzled, she looked up at him. "What for?" she asked.

"In case I need to contact you again."

"Like...for business matters?"

He flashed his pearly whites at her. "If that's what you want to call it."

Kagome laughed to herself and gave him her phone number. The interview went better than she could have ever hoped for. When she arrived back at the office, she immedialty started working on transfering transferring the content of the interview into text. Halfway through, her phone interrupted her.

"Come see me in my office," Inuyasha said.

It was amazing how his mere voice could turn her mood sour. Kagome made a face that, thankfully, he couldn't see. "If it's over a personal issue – "

"Get here. _Now_." The line went dead.

Kagome sighed and set the phone down. If it was possible to sue someone for being overbearing, she'd hang Inuyasha Taisho by his balls. Treading with heavy feet towards the end of the long hallway, she tapped lightly on the large oak doors.

"Come in," was the muffled reply.

When she stepped inside, the reek of Lysol and furnishing polish hit her like a ton of bricks. "_Good god_," she gasped and her hand flew to cover her nose. "Are you _trying_ to kill someone?"

Inuyasha glared at her over the edge of his computer screen. "Sit," he ordered.

Still covering her precious nose, she sat down on a leather chair in front of his desk, scooting to the edge. She watched him for a long, silent moment while he fiddled around on his computer. When he seemed to prolonging the moment on purpose, she said at him, "Mind spitting out whatever you wanted to see me for? I have work to get back to."

His eyes cut to her. "Not any longer. On behalf of the company, we're letting you go."

Kagome's hand dropped from her face. It took several seconds of blinking to properly process his words. "What?" she said inanely.

"In other words, you're fired. Finished. No more. Capiche?"

"What _for_?"

"You're no longer needed here," he replied simply and returned to whatever importance it was on his computer screen.

She quickly squashed the violent urge to knock his computer screen to the floor. Instead, she counted to ten to keep her anger at bay and then to twenty, just for good measure. She said slowly, "If this has anything to do with sleeping with you – "

"It _doesn't_," he snapped. "So get your shit and get out."

Which made her believe it did. "You're lying," she growled at him.

"Don't make a scene, Kagome. My lawyer's better than yours."

She tightened her lips together to prevent from lashing out at him. Sure, he was a slimeball, but he still had higher authority than she did, which angered her even more because as much satisfaction she would get from picking up his computer screen and slamming it into his face, she'd most likely get the brute of it.

Drawing as much self-control as a sane person could muster, she rose from the chair and walked to the door. Though, when she began to close the door behind her, she couldn't help it. She slammed the door so hard she thought she heard the hinges crack. But her mind was too frenzied with homicidal scenarios replaying to be completely sure. She packed up her things with too much force than necessary and left the office.

–

Inuyasha leaned back into the slope of his leather chair. He felt satisfied at pushing Kagome over the edge..._until_ she'd slammed the door. It was equivalent to having the last word, and because he saw it beneath him to endeavor for the last word, he sat back and felt his aggravation grow.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" came to mind and suddenly he was wondering if firing her was the _best_ option. Maybe he could have simply made her work life a living hell. That probably would've been more enjoyable.

A smile appeared on his face.

And disappeared as soon as his phone rang and his real estate agent's ID blinked at him.

"Kikyo!" he said with false cheeriness into the phone. "Don't tell me you're calling to sing me an early birthday song,"

She snorted. "If only I liked you that much. I'm calling to tell you I have a couple of locations to show you. How's this Saturday sound?"

"How many and what are they?" he asked, tearing off a post-it and jotting her information down.

"Five houses and four residential flats. All within your price range except house number three. It's a little out there."

"I'm willing to go higher if it's a hundred percent worth it," he said. "If not, forget it."

"I'll let you decide. So, Saturday?"

"Let's do Tuesday. I'll be in Osaka meeting with Fujita this weekend."

"Oh big bro cracking down on you, I see."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I'm a big boy. I can handle myself."

"Just like you handled yourself in the States, huh?" She laughed. "See you Tuesday."

And she hung up before he could throw an insult at her. _Smart woman_, he thought as he set the phone down. Perhaps he should have a good ol' chat with big bro this weekend about kicking her to the curb. She's been the family real estate agent nine years too long. Good agent or not, she was reaching her expiration date.

He stuck the post-it to his computer screen and then stared at all the other post-it reminders stuck to the edges. His computer literally looked like a paper flower. Maybe he should invest in his own personal assistant. It could make his weeks go a lot more smoother.

–

"What!" Sango yelled in the phone. "You're shitting me!"

"I shit you not," Kagome huffed and threw herself back on her bed. "It's the same guy. And now, instead of wanting to screw him, I want to blow his goddamn brains out. No exaggeration there."

"Don't blame you. I just can't believe he would _do_ such a thing. I mean, is that even legal?"

"I don't know, but with all the powerful people he's associated with, there's no telling what he can get by with. That just pisses me off more." Kagome shook her head. "Kouga Fukimori isn't going to be a happy client to find out that I've been fired. I _just_ finished with his interview before that slimeball fired me."

"Oh, man, that's right. Someone else is going to have to do the article and then redo the interview." Sango paused. "I wonder if Henry got wind of this yet..."

Kagome scoffed. "Of course he did, but what makes you think he'd have enough gall to really do anything about it." She blinked hard and mulled over the possibilities. "I wonder..." she murmured, "what the chairman would say about this."

"Sesshoumaru Taisho?" Sango asked, utterly disbelieving. "_The_ Sesshoumaru? ...Yeah, good luck with that."

"Well, we sorta ran into each other on the elevator a few days ago. He seems genuine enough to at least listen to what I have to say." Kagome paused and could hear Sango's skepticism in the silence. She sighed. "Sango, it's my only option, one that doesn't involve blowing Inuyasha half to hell and living the rest of my life in prison."

"I know that but..." Sango hesitated. "Is it really worth all the effort?"

Kagome sat up. "Of _course_! I can't let that asshole have his way with me. I'll kick him where it hurts...and legally, too."

"Just don't want you to end up kicking yourself in the head, is all."

"Don't worry. I am a professional."

Sango laughed and said, "That's why I'm worried."


	5. Hell hath no fury

**Tango In Tokyo  
_Chapter 5: Hell Hath No Fury_**

Inuyasha rested his chin on the steering wheel. His hands remained limp in his lap and shoulders sloped forward. He looked up at the building of Headquarters where the sun sharpened its light against the edge of the window panes.

When he walked inside, immediately the employees recognized him and not just from the tabloids and newspapers. Some of them had been with the company since his father. Occasionally some of them even did the unofficial business of "babysitting" him. They greeted him with a smile that could have said: _I remember you in your diapers_. But the younger ones, the ones who hadn't seen him spilling milk and cheerios all over the hallways and getting into the secretary's secret stash of Twix bars, greeted him with a nod and smile that made him feel like his father.

It was eerie to feel the past creeping along the present. After eleven years, perhaps ending his absence now was a year too soon.

_Too late for that_, he told himself.

Ignoring the receptionist – she moved to get up but took one look at him and sat back down – he walked into Sesshoumaru's office, looking the epitome of sick as a dog, and plopped himself down into the slippery leather chair. He laid his head down on the desk and asked, "Is Fujita here yet?"

Sesshoumaru, not looking up from the papers in his hand, shoved his head off his desk. "No, but he should be walking into the building in a few minutes, so don't fool around."

"I'm not," Inuyasha said, rubbing his head. "I'm running off of thirty minutes of sleep and four cups of caffeine. I feel like dropping dead."

"You can do whatever you like after the meeting."

Inuyasha lifted his head with a sigh and stared at his brother, who's attention was fully dedicated to the papers in his hands. The contract for Fujita, no doubt. Ready to be signed, sealed, and delivered, if all went well. Inuyasha sighed again. _I hate you, Kouga_, he thought to himself.

Seshoumaru suddenly turned to him and said, "I had a visitor earlier today. She had a lot to say about you."

"What, that she's the mother of my unborn baby and we're getting hitched? Thought you were a little smarter than that, Sesshoumaru."

"Actually, she came here talking about – " He stopped at the sound of his phone ringing, glanced at the ID number, and reached over to answer it. "Yes? What is it? …Send him up."

Inuyasha ignored the call and prompted Sesshoumaru to finish what he was saying. Instead of continuing on, he got up and waved his hand in disregard.

"We'll talk about it after the meeting," he said and stood from his desk. He gathered the papers, placed it neatly in a folder, and headed down the hall.

Reluctantly, Inuyasha followed.

Fujita Fukimori. Inuyasha rolled the name around in his mouth, tasting memory after memory. Chairman and CEO of Fujita Motors, shareholder of more than thirteen private corporations, uncle to Kouga Fukimori, and ex-friend to his father. Inuyasha walked into the board room where six men were crowded around the gleaming black conference table: Sesshoumaru, Robert Myouga, Taisho Com's chief operating officer with nineteen years under his belt; John Jaken, chief financial officer with eleven years and appointed personally by Sesshoumaru after his father's absence; and Fujita and his two boys.

Fujita was slim man and as tall as Inuyasha was with shiny, bald head and an unsmiling face. He was the same as Inuyasha remembered him as if the years had barely touched him. His black eyes flitted over to Inuyasha and widened, just a little bit, before returning to their passive state.

"My, is that the boy I remember running around in diapers?" he said.

Inuyasha wheeled out a chair from beneath the table and sat down, giving Fujita a big wolf grin. "The one and only. Although I remember you with a bit more hair."

Fujita laughed and the skin around his mouth, instead of wrinkling, tightened up like latex gloves. "Charming. I think the last time I saw you, you were barely eighteen and out of high school."

"Yep. At my mother's funeral, remember?"

Boom. Right in the gut.

Fujita's eyes flickered away and his mouth tightened. "Yes. Well, we all have our grieviences, don't we?"

Sesshoumaru, watching like a hawk on the far side of the room, took the moment to intervene. "Have a seat gentlemen, and we may get started."

Inuyasha didn't miss the cool stare his brother gave him that clearly said:_ Don't do anything stupid._

The meeting was a summary of what the contract would be between Taisho Com and Fujita Motors, spelled out in business words, numbers and legalities. In a nutshell, Grandeur was to host Kouga Fukimori in this coming month's magazine publication and Fujita Motors would invest in twenty-seven million dollars worth of Taisho Com's stock. Thiry-one percent of the revenue that would be cooked up from the publication would go to Fujita Motors as an investment from Taisho Com.

A "reconcilement" as Fujita had put it.

But what Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru and the whole board of directors knew was that Fujita wasn't about charity and never made deals he wouldn't profit hugely from. The most they predicted to profit from the publication was sixty million. Roughly. There was no doubt in Inuyasha's mind Fujita had two points of profit hurtling towards him like a train carrying a silver platter.

When the meeting was over and Fujita and his men had left, Inuyasha said out loud, "Do you think he has a spy here?"

John gave Inuyasha a dubious look. "Coporate esponiage would be too american for him. He's a proud man. Too proud for that."

"I suppose that's true." Inuyasha let out a big obnoxious yawn and glanced at his watch. Lunch was way overdue. "I'll catch you gentleman later. I have a stomach to tend to."

"Not just yet," Sesshoumaru said, handing Robert the manila folder that held all today's newly found obligations. "Come see me in my office."

Oh great. Those words were never promising.

Sesshoumaru was clearing papers off his desk when Inuyasha walked into his office.

When Sesshoumaru took the initiative to speak, his tone sounded like the flatline of a dead heart. "One of your employees came to me earlier today to tell me some very interesting news. She said you slept with her and then fired her."

Inuyasha blinked. "Uh..."

"I don't care what hardships and turmoil you think you endured in the past, but allow me to say this now: Do _not_ fuck this up. I don't give a rats ass about any hostility you harbor towards Fujita and his kinship. You are a subordinate to this company's chief officers and the board of directors and you will comply with the rules and regulation set forth by them. That includes firing an employee without approval by myself and the board of directors. Have I made myself unclear in any way?"

Kagome... that snitch.

"Nope. Crystal clear." On how very violently he was going to find her and throttle her.

"Good. By monday, she should be returning to work per request."

This wasn't going to sit well with Inuyasha. It was genetically imbeded in him to have the last laugh. Inuyasha turned to leave and almost made it out the door before Sesshoumaru spoke again.

"Next time you pull any other stunt that puts this company in jeopardy, I will see your punishment out. Personally."

And there it went again, a bullet from the past cruising along the present. In this office, in that suit, with those words, Sesshoumaru looked exactly like father.

Perhaps eleven years ending his absence _was_ a year too soon.

Inuyasha shut the door firmly behind him.

–

Monday afternoon, Kagome sat at an ice cream parlor, chewing her fingernails to bits. The bowl of fudge and brownie ice cream was now a soupy clump of white and brown swirls. Sango slurped her strawberry ice cream down and stared at Kagome.

"Instead of eating your nails until you have none, why don't you just go get it over and done with?" Sango asked.

"And say what to him?" Kagome asked, dropping her hand onto the table. "Hey, talked to your bro. Give me my job back or else? _God_." Kagome sighed exasperatingly and jammed a fist between her eyes. "I feel like such a loser."

"_Why_? It's not like you did anything wrong in the first place."

Kagome looked at her and raised her brow.

Sango hid her laugh by chomping into her ice cream. "Besides that little tid bit. And anyways, what happened to you being hellbent on getting your job back?"

"I _am, _I just didn't think I'd feel like such a five-year-old squealer."

"Pick and choose your battles, girlie."

"And when battles decide to just dump themselves at my door step?"

Sango shook her head and the way she did it made Kagome feel like she was being a bit too melodramatic. She sat back against the booth seat and swirled the soupy ice cream with her spoon.

"You know," Sango drawled, "you're pretty, smart, and ambitious enough to get any job you want. Have you ever thought about exploring the seas? Spreading the horizon?"

Kagome shrugged. "I have a few times. But I'd fought tooth and nail after college to land a job like this. The thought of losing it to anyone, especially a guy like Inuyasha Taisho, makes me want to kill something."

"Something or someone?" Sango raised her brows suggestively.

Kagome laughed. "Blonde hair, gold eyes, and a bad attitude?"

"That belongs on a billboard?"

"Yep, that's the one."

"I swear. What is it about beauty that make people such assholes?"

"No, no," Kagome vigorously shook her head, "it's people that make being beautiful such a pain-in-the-ass. Think about it. People are _so_ intimidated by beauty because of personal imperfections and self-doubt that it creates this big ball of animosity."

Sango squinted her eyes as if she were trying to see something very far away. "Isn't that being a little narrow-minded? Who's to say who's beautiful and who's not?"

"Exactly!" Kagome exclaimed, raising her hand. "Beautiful is defined in so many different ways and shapes and when people start eating the bullshit media conglomerates feed the public about what the pinnacles of beauty are, low self-esteem seems to reign like a plague. People slave over being picture-perfect. Then when their efforts seemed dimmed by a person who's beauty seems outrageously perfect and flawless, they try and do the one thing that would flaw them."

"And that is?" Sango asked. She sat serene with her hand steepled resting on the table.

Something vibrated hard against the table. "One minute." Kagome picked up her phone and read the new text message.

_Come to office. _- Inuyasha

Kagome stared at her phone. "He fires me and then tells me to come to the office _via text. _He's got more nerve than Hitler." She grabbed her things and tossed her ice cream in the trash. "Are you coming?"

Sango sat still in the booth seat, resting her eyes on whatever seemed interesting outside the window. "No I have thirty more minutes for lunch. I'll see you there."

Kagome stared at her a minute longer; something was on her mind. But she didn't seem like she was going to share it anytime soon. Shrugging it off, Kagome hightailed it to Taisho Com.

Inuyasha was sitting at his desk with his head bent over a thick stack of papers when Kagome arrived. She swiftly tapped on the open door and let herself in.

"You got here mighty fast," he commented. His eyes didn't even flicker up and remained steady on the pile of paper in front of him.

She couldn't help it.

"Would you like me to leave for ten minutes and come back again?" she asked. Her tone made him look up.

It was like her hormones and nervous system had a mind of their own and decided that everything that came out of her mouth would be to smite Inuyasha Taisho down. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing if her job wasn't on the line.

The absolute loathing in his eyes left no room for doubt that big ol' bro had a heart-to-heart chat with lil ol' bro.

"I'm just going to get straight to the point," he said. "Apparently, I don't have the authority to fire you."

_Oh, isn't that a blow to your ego_, Kagome thought with immense satisfaction.

"So you have your job back."

"IN YOUR FACE!" She wanted to scream, but instead Kagome nodded. "Thank you. I will be on my way – "

"On one condition."

"Mhm, what's that?"

He gave her a smile. "That you become my assistant."

* * *

A/N: I had originally written out Sesshomaru and Kagome's conversation about getting her job back, but as I kept going over it and reediting it, I thought...well what if I don't write it out, just the after-effects of it and leave the reader just a hint of what went down. Let me know how that played out for you guys!


	6. To be or not to be

A/N: I have no idea what FF is doing to my formats or why, but its making everything run into each other and just weird. So if you see something weird, please let me know. Thanks!

* * *

**Tango In Tokyo  
**_**Chapter 6: To be or not to be**_

Kagome stared at Inuyasha, wide eyes and open mouth. "Go fuck yourself," was the only thing she could manage.

Not the reaction he was looking for, but he supposed it was a starting point. "You'll be both my assistant and a journalist of Grandeur and be paid as such," he began explaining, somber and poker-faced that, in retrospect, had impressively cloaked the smug rolling off him like tsunamis. "However, your tasks as my assistant will be preeminent. As long as you're able to balance both jobs, I won't give you any—"

"Stop," she said in such an harsh, ugly tone Inuyasha found it difficult to match it with her pretty face. "Do you honestly think I'm going to be your little high-heeled lackey at your beck and call twenty-four seven?"

"That's putting it a little over the top, but sure."

Her cheeks puffed out like a ballon on the verge of busting. A dozen expressions ran across her face, none of which seemed remotely inclined to accept his offer. But she visibly deflated and took a deep, resonating breath.

"Why me? What makes you think I won't try to ruin you?"

Inuyasha shrugged and sat back against his chair.

"You want your job back and I really do need an assistant. It seemed like a chance too rare to pass up. _And_," he rolled his pen between his fingers, "you're dedicated to your job and to keeping it. Why _wouldn't_ you do a good job?"

Kagome took the time to assess him.

"Are you usually this smart or is playing stupid your favorite past-time?"

He gave her a tight smile. "Yes or no, pumpkin."

She looked away for a moment, in serious thought, and then back to him. "On one condition. No cocky attitudes and _no_ sexual advances."

"That's actually two."

"So glad you can count. So is this a deal?"

"Deal. You start tomorrow. I'll give Henry the update."

Kagome gave him a half dubious, half dirty look. Just as she was about to take her dramatic exit from his office, he added, "And no disrespecting your boss," and flashed his pearly whites at her. She slammed the door behind her.

Inuyasha sat still in his seat, staring at the door, and drumming his fingers against the desk. He _really_ would have to teach her a lesson about slamming that door.

-1-

Tomorrow came faster than Kagome wanted. She walked into the office as if she had only been gone a day and betrayed none of the unease wreacking havoc in her stomach.

In truth, she wasn't sure how to act towards Inuyasha now that she was his – _gag reflex_ – assistant. The thought of Inuyasha ordering her around made her want to bash his face in. But if she bit his head off at every request he made, she would most certainly lose her job. On the other hand, she would saw off her own arm before she kissed his ass.

To be or not to be?

"Kagome!" Miroku greeted her, as if she were a long time buddy he frequently went to soccer games with. "Welcome back. I assume you decided to go forward with the vacation to Jamaca, huh?"

In other words, where were you all last week? His attempt to turn his rabid curiosty into a joke was just a little short of pathetic. Kagome stuffed the urge to roll her eyes at him by organizing the clatter on her desk.

"My cousin died," she lied. "I was overcome with grief."

Miroku's eyes widened. "Oh...that sucks. I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Before she could blow him off, her phone rang. Inuyasha's extension number flashed in the ID screeen. Oh great...

"_Actually_..." She smiled and batted her eyelashes. "I would loooove some coffee. Do you mind?"

He took the bait like the sucker he was. "Sure. Be back in a sec."

She would have felt more guilty for playing him if her cause wasn't as justifiable as wanting to keep her and Inuyasha's rather unprofessional relationship private. There was nothing more distracting and irritating than nasty gossip in a work environment.

Kagome ripped the phone from its cradle and held it to her ear. "What do you want," was what she wanted to say, but instead she said, "This is Kagome."

"I need all of Henry's documentation of scheduled interviews for this month. Run it by my desk by nine."

The smug in his voice drove her up the wall. Instead of rising to his bait, she said – and very, very innocently – "On white or cream paper...Mr. Tashio?"

She could feel his eyes burning holes through the walls that separated them. "Is that sarcasm I hear? Do you remember what we talked about?"

Miroku was walking back down the isle with her coffee. She quickly said, "I'll have it there by nine," and hung up. She smiled as he handed her the coffee. "Thank you."

"Just the way you like it."

She smelled it and sighed. If it was one thing she would give him props for, it was making good coffee. He watched her throat work the hot coffee into a swallow—it was almost disturbing to her.

"So did Sango go to the funeral with you too?" he asked conversationally.

Kagome frowned at him. "No. Why?"

"She hasn't been here since Thursday. I figured since you two are close, she might've been with you." He shrugged.

Two things were odd to Kagome. One: Sango's absence and not an explanation to Kagome—not that she was _required_ to but friends didn't leave friends hanging. Two: Miroku's interest in Sango's whereabouts.

"Nope, wasn't with me," she said.

Miroku leaned his head toward her and was prepared to say something else when he noted Henry walking towards them. "And that's my cue. We'll talk later."

He winked at her and walked to the other side of the office, to undoubtedly practice his flirting techniques. Henry strolled to a stop in front of her.

"Kagome, welcome back. Mr. Taisho briefed me on your current status with the company this morning." Henry leaned against the edge of her desk; he wore a deep frown that said all she needed to know. "I must say, I'm surprised. But compared to his initial choice, I like this one much better."

Kagome had a feeling he wanted to ask her questions but decided spare her. "Thanks, Henry," she said and meant it in more than one way.

The tighening of his mouth was his only response. He patted her shoulder and morphed into the good ol' Henry. "This just means more tightening up on your work," he said and wandered off.

_Yeah tell me about it._ Kagome sighed and rolled up her sleeves. She still hadn't finished her article on Kouga Fukimori and it would be due in a couple of days.

Kouga Fukimori.

She looked at one of the photo's on him on her desk and briefly wondered if he would ever call her. Not that it mattered if he did or not, because it really didn't. That was his personal choice and she had no reason to be upset over it. But if he _did_ decide to call her, well, what kind of woman would she be to turn him down?

Kagome resumed finishing up the article and kept an eye on the time. If Inuyasha wanted Henry's documentation by nine, she would make sure she had it there after nine. _Sorry, Mr. Taisho, _she would say, _I went to the lady's room and I'll be damned, someone had flooded one of the toilets! I called the janitor and I had to wait._

She snickered.

But at exactly 8:50, her phone rang. She took one look and thought, _You have got to be kidding me._

"Yes, Mr. Taisho?"

"Where's my documents?" He sounded annoyed.

"You said by nine, not eight-fifty."

"When I say by nine, it usually means _before_ nine."

God! Did his mother drop him on his head when he was a baby? All the angels in heaven wouldn't have been able to take the bite out of her tone.

"Well I apo-lo-gize, Mr. Taisho. When someone says by nine, it _usually_ means _by nine_. And correct me if I'm wrong but eight-fifty-nine is _still before nine_. So, Mr. Taisho,_ I still have eight minutes left._"

"Come to my office. _Now_. And bring the documents with you." He hung up.

Kagome slammed the phone into the cradle, shot up from her chair and retrieved the documents from Henry. If he wanted the stupid documents that bad, then she would give it to him. She barged into his office, slammed the papers on his desk, and nearly knocked his coffee over onto his crotch.

He jumped from his seat and caught the cup. "Are you _mental_?" he snapped.

She spun on her heal and slammed the door behind her.

Except, that was where it all went wrong. The door never slammed.

There was a shuffle, a dull bang, a sickening crack, and a very loud, very agonized, and _very _pissed Inuyasha howling. A stream of curses vile enough to make even the Pope flustered came flying out of his mouth.

Kagome turned around, wide eyed. "What in the hell..."

Inuyasha was doubled over, cradling his hand to his chest.

"_What did you do?_" she asked.

"I stuck my hand in the fucking door!" he yelled.

"_Why_ would you stick _your_ _hand_ in a _door_ that's about to be _slammed_?"

He gave her a glare that she swore just sped up global warming. "Because I'm sick of you slamming my fucking door!"

"Oh that was very smart..." Kagome looked behind her and noted the heads turned their way. She moved inside the office and closed the door behind her. "Let me see your hand."

"No! I should fire you, I should fire you_ right now_!"

"Oh quit being so melodramatic. It wasn't like I was the one that stuck your hand in the door. Let me see."

He held his trembling hand up to her. Kagome was no doctor, but the red marks and deep purple splotches didn't look so good. In fact, if she was honest, it looked _ghastly_. But she wasn't about to tell him that.

"Oh, it looks fine," she said, tittering when he gave her a look that almost made her believe she belonged in a straight-jacket. "Seriously. You just need some ice, a little bit of asprin, and you'll be good as new."

"No. I need to go to the hospital."

He looked so serious when he said that; Kagome couldn't help but laugh, which prompted a dirty look from him.

"You're taking me," he said.

The smile dropped from her face. "I have work here to do."

Inuyasha grabbed his jacket with his good hand and slung it over his arm. "I can't drive like this and I'll eat dirt before I ride the bus. You're taking me."

"Inuyasha, _really_ –"

"This is one of those moments where you're job as my assistant comes first. Now _assistant_ me to the hospital." He opened the door and walked out of the office.

It _wasn't_ her fault he had pancaked his hand in the door, but even as the wheels of logic turned, the ugly feeling of guilt crept into her conscience. She sighed and followed him out the door. "My car or your car?" she called to him.

"Yours," he called over his shoulder.

Peachy.

-2-

Inuyasha looked on with a grimance as the nurse bandaged his hand.

Sprained.

That was it. That was the only diagnosis the nurse gave him. He wanted to shake her and tell her, _Look at my hand! It looks like it was run over by a fucking bus! _

Kagome, on the other hand, looked at him with a pitied expression on her face, occasionally shaking her head. The nerve of that woman... He'd be lucky if he didn't throttle her for incapacitating him.

The nurse exited the room to retrieve prescriptions for pain killers—upon request, of course; who could deny Inuyasha's smoldering sex appeal? Other than Kagome...

The thought put a frown on his face and made his lungs ache for an old habit. He started patting himself down. He fished out a box of cigarettes from his pant pocket and stuck one in his mouth.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kagome asked.

"What does it look like?" He spoke around the cigarette as he searched his other pockets for his lighter.

"Like you're about to do something blantantly disrespectful. Do you see this sign here?" She pointed to the large NO SMOKING sign hanging on the door. "You are not smoking in here."

He stopped his search for his lighter and looked up at her. "You're going to deny me my guilty pleasures?"

"Yeah."

He shrugged. "Ok."

She rolled her eyes and turned away, begging the nurse to hurry back so she could go back to the office and –

_Click._

Kagome turned to see him lighting his cigarette. "_Excuse_ me," she exclaimed and yanked the cigarette from his mouth.

Inuyasha gave her his best No-You-Didn't stare. "Excuse _me_." He plucked his cigarette from her fingers. "I believe I hired you as my assistant, not my mother."

"If I were you're mother, I would've beaten you with a bat already," she replied sweetly and swiped the cigarette from his fingertips, holding it away from him over her head.

"I've played this game a million times, babycakes." His hand shot out and pinched the top of her boob.

Kagome squeaked and threw her arms over her chest, to which Inuyasha took the opportunity to grab his cigarette back. He stuck it in his mouth, lit it up, and inhaled.

"You play dirty."

He blew smoke out into her face, heavy like a sigh. "Yeah, and its a shame you don't."

Instead of saying anything, she shook her head in irritation and proceeded to ignore him by feigning interest in the opposite wall filled with images of athelets foot. It was disgusting but far better than to have him notice the red rising to her face.

All because he touched her boob. So _what_. He's touched far more initimate –

Ok, bad thoughts. Not going there.

Did she just mumble that? Why was he looking at her like that...

There was a swift knock on the door before the nurse entered the room again. She gave him instructions on when and how to take the pain killers, how not to use his sprained hand, and why was he smoking in the room? Inuyasha, like the player he was, gave her a greek drama for an explanation, a devilish smile, and a brush of fingertips on the arm. The poor girl began blushing and fumbling for words. She practically shoved them out of the office.

Outside as they walked towards her car, she said to him, "You're a sad story for a person, you know that?"

He laughed sharply, too sharp to be stemmed from humor, and flicked his cigarette butt to the ground. "And what, pray tell, makes you say that?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you?"

"You could show me. I think I might understand it better—"

"Oh shut up."

Inuyasha chuckled.

Back at the office, the moment Kagome walked into the room, she knew something was amiss. There was no chatter, no busy-body flittering from desk to desk; only the rustle of paper and the stroke of keys. She turned the corner leading towards Inuyasha's office.

And froze.

Kouga Fukimori stood there by the door.

He wore a sleek black suit that probably floored every woman in the room, including Kagome. He seemed like the type of man who loved to get down and dirty and dressed in accordance: jeans, a white-tee, and a baseball cap. A black suit was certainly a sight to behold. The sharp, taut lines of his broad shoulders and the hard contour of his arms and legs had Kagome blinking hard.

He was turned away from her, chatting with Henry. She took the opportunity and started for the opposite direction.

Inuyasha rounded the corner and smacked right into her.

_God_ did this man have the perfect timing...

He let out a slight _Ow _and a "Oh yes, stop in the middle of the hall so I can run into you and break something else of mine."

Kouga and Henry turned towards them.

_Great. _Squashing all of the nervous butterflies, Kagome smiled and waved. Kouga began walking towards her in quick, long strides.

"Kagome," he greeted with a lopsided smile that could have dropped a nation of women to their knees. And then he looked at Inuyasha with an icy-cool expression that seemed reserved just for him.

Kagome pretended she didn't notice it.

"You're early," Inuyasha said to Kouga, glancing at the watch on his wrist. His tone was anything but friendly.

Kouga said, "No, you're just late."

Inuyasha gave him a big wolf grin and slapped Kagome on the back, startling her. "And we can thank my lovely assistant for that. She couldn't keep her hands off me and broke my hand."

He winked at her. She wanted to beat him with a frying pan.

"Assistant?" Kouga echoed, frowning and looked to Kagome. "You're not a journalist?"

Kagome tittered and gave Inuyasha a sidelong death glare. "I am, but its a long story," she said with a wave of her hand.

"I see," Kouga said and paused for a long moment. "You broke his hand?"

Kagome shrugged. "It was probably past due anyways."

Kouga bellowed a laugh and slapped Inuyasha on the shoulder. Inuyasha glared at the offending hand.

"She's a diamond," Kouga laughed.

"Yeah, she's a real treat," Inuyasha said dryly and looked at Kagome.

She gave him big F-U smile and said to Kouga, "I gotta get back to work. It was very nice seeing you again." She stuck her hand out to him, to give him a handshake.

He took her hand as if he were about to kiss it. But he simply held her hand and bowed politely to her. "It was nice to see you as well, Miss Higurashi."

For the first time, Inuyasha saw the dazzling smile Kagome was capable of: head tilted, wrinkled eyes, thick lips spread wide, and a parted mouth that seemed frozen on the verge of speaking. A very small part of him wished it had been for him, rather that frown that he was all too familiar with.

Inuyasha quickly intervened and herded Kouga into his office. Before he shut the door, he glanced over his shoulder at Kagome, still standing smitten in the hallway.

Jealousy was a ferocious thing. It rose like fire beneath ash, but he could not, for the life of him, stop to give a damn.


	7. Something borrowed, something blue

_A/N: I knooow, I'm sooorry! I've been hogging the chapters for like a year. Heh. Also, I know I'm just so absolutely **perfect** and everything, so any grammar mistakes or inconsistencies witnessed below are apart of some dumb, faulty formatting that has occured between transistioning this document from my computer to this website. So...I didn't do it! _

_I've done my best to clean it up, but my absolutely **perfect **eye occassionally overlooks stuff... If you do see one, please feel free to notify me._

_ENJOY._

* * *

**Tango In Tokyo**  
_**Chapter 7: Something borrowed, something blue**_

Kagome fell back in her chair and stretched, happy to have at least finished the rough draft portion of her article's process. The next few steps would be a breeze: sourcing images to accompany her article and getting Henry's approval on the rough draft. Sounded daunting, but Kagome usually managed to hit the nail on the head one way or another.

She looked around the dark office. Most of everyone had gone home for the day. It was already the beginnings of twilight outside.

As she walked into Henry's office to place her rough draft on his desk, she noticed the light coming from Inuyasha's office. She glanced at her watch.

Funny. He didn't seem like the type of guy to work late.

Despite her better judgment, she walked to his office and lightly knocked on his door.

"Yes? Come in."

She opened the door but hovered in the doorway.

He was sitting at his desk, typing something up on his computer. He wore glasses.

Kagome laughed. "And here I thought glasses would be too beneath you to wear."

He looked up at her; his desk lamp cast a glare in the corner of his lenses. "I only wear them at night. Contacts make my eyes dry when I wear them all day." He gave a pause and sized her. "Why are you still here?"

"Making up lost time on Kouga's interview article. I was sort of interrupted today."

Inuyasha gave her a look and held up his bandaged hand, waving it as if to say: _me too_. He returned to typing.

Kagome watched him for a moment longer. It was rare that she got to see him without his biting remarks and lewd jokes. He looked focused and intelligent; the way he sat straight in his chair, shoulders pulled taut with self-discipline, head held evenly. It reminded Kagome of the open and regal manner Sesshoumaru exhibited. This, she thought, was probably the side of him she had met at the bar.

Secretly, she knew she was and probably always would be attracted to him. As ungodly as he made himself out to be most of the time, this image of him would be plastered to the back walls of her mind: a man with the potential to command a media empire. Even as he spewed lewd and biting comments, she knew she would never _completely_ hate him.

And maybe it would be in her best interest to do so, or at least make every attempt to. It would serve her absolutely no good to start thinking of Inuyasha Taisho as anything other than her boss. They seemed to stay on opposite ends of the magnetic pole. Any sort of collision was bound for catastrophe.

"Is there a reason you're still standing in my doorway?"

Instinctively, Kagome moved back. It felt like ripples, as though he had thrown a pebble into a pond and disturbed something quiet and secretive.

She was about to retort a smart remark when he gave a big lion yawn followed by a rather inhumanly sound.

Were humans even _supposed_ to make that kind of noise?

"I need a drink," Inuyasha sighed and ran a hand over his face. He turned in his chair and began rummaging around in the file cabinet. He produced a rum bottle and two glasses. "Care to join me?"

"I think I remember the last time we had a few drinks. A little too clearly I might add."

"Too clearly, huh? I'm pretty sure the '_we'_ part was actually two isolated incidents. It's not like we were having drinks _together_." He poured the rum into both glasses.

"Together, separate, big freaking difference. Case in point: alcohol plus both of us equals disaster." But despite the warning signals in her head, she was already walking over to his desk.

Inuyasha chuckled. "So what exactly is it that you're remembering too clearly?"

He gave her a devilish smile as she took the glass from his offered hand. He took a swig and made a face as if the burning in his throat was actually woman stroking him. Kagome took a sip and felt it burn all the way down to hell.

"The hotel I suppose," she said, nonchalant.

"That's the _only_ thing? As opposed to the sweaty, hot, naked – "

"Yes...no! I mean...not a lot of guys I have slept with have been well-endowed – "

"Oh really..."

"_Financially_," she finished sharply, giving him a pointed look. "It was just..._different_. That's all."

"Let me ask you something." He shot the last drop of rum down his throat. "How many men have you slept with?"

Kagome raised a brow at him. "Isn't that against some kind of company policy to ask?"

"Well since it's after hours right now and technically outside of work..."

She rolled her eyes and drained her glass. If she was going to spill her business to him, she might as well be trashed afterwards.

"Honestly, I don't really know," she said. "But if I had to guess, I'd say around six so far this year."

"_Fuck_ me!" Inuyasha laughed, bugged eyed and all. "Are you serious?"

Kagome tried not to look offended and held her glass out to him. He immediately poured more rum in it. "Yes, I'm serious. Most of them I've met at seminars, conferences, social events and whatnot. Why are you so grossly shocked? I'm fairly certain you're not so virginal yourself."

"No it's not that, it's just..." He laughed to himself. "Most people calling that whoring. You've got some balls on you, woman. Not many girls around here are bold like that and still have class."

"How crude. But thank you for the compliment."

Inuyasha downed the last drop from the bottle. He got up and rummaged around in the bookcase opposite from his desk. He produced another rum bottle. "So, how do you chose them?"

"Jesus...how many bottles do you have in here?"

He popped the new bottle open. "Five more and you'll never find them. Answer my question."

He sauntered over to her and poured her another glass. She downed at least half of it without a word. The burning wasn't as bad as the first glass, but it still made her gurgle a little.

"It's hard to say," she said after the burning was gone. "It's subtle; there's an air about some men that seem almost primal. Like testosterone overload. My cavewoman instincts sorta kick in after recognizing it, I guess."

Kagome laughed to herself and paused for a minute, staring into space. Inuyasha waved for her to finish. She looked at him and fluttered her eyes, as if surprised to see him there, sitting against the edge of his desk.

"Well?" he prompted.

"Well what?"

"Continue."

"That's it."

Inuyasha chuckled and took a swig from the bottle. For some outrageous reason, she couldn't help but feel irritated from his chuckle.

"Well, how do _you_ pick them?" she asked him, stealing the bottle from his hand and taking a rather brazen gulp.

He gave a big pensive sigh and looked up at the ceiling, squinting his eyes as if the answer lay hidden between the cracks. "They usually pick me," he said. "And they're usually sexy enough that I don't mind."

"Please don't tell me big boobs and tiny waist is your definition of sexy."

"What makes you think that's the type of woman I attract?" He gave her a sidelong look.

She made a wry face at him. "It's pretty obvious that you're wealthy. And wealth is a magnet for leaching bimbos who think big boobs and a tiny waist are sexy."

"Trust me," Inuyasha said, shaking his head, "I'm not that guy who goes for all body and no brains. Now don't get me wrong. A nice, round ass, plump boobs, and a tiny waist are positives but not necessary. An easy woman is boring." He shrugged, a very subtle and simultaneous movement involving a slight tilt of the head and a brief lift of the shoulder. "I like a challenge."

Kagome starting laughing.

"Oh you think that's funny do you?"

"Is that...is that why you can't stop pestering me?" she asked. It made her laugh harder. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Inuyasha stared at her for a moment, surprised, then shook his head in dark amusement.

"Unbelievable," he chuckled.

Kagome was still laughing, clutching her stomach. She had to sit on the desk or would have otherwise ended up on the floor.

When she sobered up, she leaned back on her hands and sighed heartily. "And here I was thinking you did it in spite of me, because I wouldn't sleep with you again."

"Well...if we're both being honest here, I'm not going to say I don't want to sleep with you again." He put his hand up to his chest as if to say: There. It's out on the table now; take it or leave it. "But is it really true that you don't sleep with the same guy twice?"

"Yes," she said slowly, "and I'm usually decently sober."

Inuyasha swallowed some rum and passed the bottle to her. She took it obligingly.

"Even in your relationships?" he asked.

She hesitated and knew he saw it. "I haven't been in a relationship since college. But obviously, if I were in a relationship, it would be different."

"And is that voluntary?"

"Is what voluntary?"

"You know..." He waved his hand in the air. "Your lack of relationships."

He was treading in private territory. But if she showed her discomfort, Inuyasha would undoubtedly catch on and there was no telling what he would do with that information.

"Absolutely. I get to be a free woman. No commitment, no obligations, no drama."

She took a quick swig before handing the bottle to him.

"So what would you say to the idea of two people maintaining a purely physical relationship without commitment and obligation?" he asked.

"Like having a one night stand more than one night and with the same person?"

"If that's how you want to see it, sure."

Kagome rubbed her chin and thought as hard as the alcohol would let her. "If they're shallow enough, it's quite possible. I dunno how long it would last though."

"Would that matter?"

"I suppose not."

"Would you do it then?"

Kagome looked at him and found it uncomfortable at how openly he was looking at her. The alcohol was making her hot and dizzy and feverishly giddy. She started peeling her sweater off.

"Maybe," she said, fanning herself. "Out of curiosity."

She thought about the night they slept together. Like a child sticking a toe in a pool, she acknowledged the fact that if the chance to sleep with him again rose in her favor, she would want to do it. But the more important question bugging her was if she would actually do it. She'd spent years sticking by her self-acclaimed practice of never going further than night number one. And yet, man after man, there was always a deep, lingering desire for just one more night with the same one, one more opportunity to touch that which was untouchable to her, to know that it was not just circumstance and chance; that it was solid and true.

But in the name of a fear that pointed to the reality of what seconds could mean, she would not bring herself to break her streak. That wouldn't stop her from occasionally pulling one of those nights from memory and admiring it in all its shining glory.

Or rather..._sweaty_ glory.

She noted Inuyasha in her peripheral vision. He was unbuttoning his shirt.

"Wha- uhm, what do you think you're doing?"

Inuyasha stared at her for a minute. Then Kagome saw the white tank top beneath his shirt and the sweat at the base of his neck.

"It's hot in here, no?" he said evenly, and proceeded to roll his sleeves up to his elbows.

"Oh," she tittered and then gave him a once-over.

Sweaty skin, exposed pecks, square jaw, muscled forearms... _God_ he was so close... It was like the first night all over again.

He looked at her so intently and direct that she felt a sudden panic rise. Had she said it out loud? Had he seen it written all over her face?

It was the alcohol. It was making the room smaller and hotter. It was a very, very bad idea, indeed.

Kagome swallowed and it felt like lumps of rocks that wouldn't go down. Her face felt flushed from the alcohol or from something else entirely.

She took off her blouse and sat in her thin tank top to let the air cool her off in more ways than one. In the corner of her eye, she saw Inuyasha looking at her.

She knew what it was like to play with fire and knew that her next actions would be just that. It was simply irresistable. Testing, she tilted her head back and breathed in deeply.

The feeling of being wild and dangerous was not new to her, but the source of the situation was.

Inuyasha moved towards her and the look in his eyes was very, very sober. He leaned into her.

Then suddenly, it just a little too dangerous. "We shouldn't," Kagome blurted before she knew what she had been planning to say.

Inuyasha was inches from her face, his arm reaching over her shoulder, when he paused. "We shouldn't what?" he asked, and if Kagome's heart wasn't thundering in her ears she would've been certain of the smirk in his voice.

Inuyasha retracted his arm, and in his hand was another rum bottle.

_Oh_...

Kagome wanted to beat the blush from her face. But that smirk he wore...

"We shouldn't what, Kagome?" he asked again, straightening his torso.

She remained silent and continued to stare at him. Either she was a lightweight or he was a heavyweight because he seemed twice as sober as she felt, and she could swear up and down he drank as much, if not more, as she did.

Kagome sighed. "I should be going home. It's late. My mind is doing funny things."

Inuyasha teetered on the verge of objecting but then backtracked. "You sure you should be going home like that?" he asked, and gestured to the general area of her person.

She folded her arms and batted her eyelashes. "I am a responsible adult perfectly capable of making it to my apartment on my own, thanks very much."

"No, I mean tipsy and half-naked."

"I am not tip...Ok, I am not half-naked." She looked down at herself and realized her bra was peeking over her tank-top and her skirt had somehow shimmied further up her waist. "Whatever. I'll manage."

But when she stood, the whole world was suddenly a Ferris wheel and when she looked at Inuyasha...

"Oh my god, stop moving..."

Her foot landed somewhere in front of her but her other foot fell somewhere behind her and suddenly the world was tipping over.

Inuyasha caught her around the shoulders. "Yep, knew that was coming. Here, throw your arm – "

She shoved him away. "Don't be so touchy. I'm not a – "

She stumbled backwards on her heals and this time it was she who grabbed for him.

Well actually the closest thing on him, which, in a blind grope, happened to be the hem of his pants. Everything thus forward was like a predictably bad romance movie in slow motion.

She toppled onto the floor and Inuyasha followed suit, landing with a breathless _oof_ right smack on top of her.

In the movies, the position would've probably lead to crazy, drunken office sex. However, any semblance of a sexual appetite was crushed somewhere between the floor and two-hundred-something pounds of muscle and bone that was probably going to suffocate her to death.

"Can'tbreathecan'tbreathecantbreathe..." she wheezed as his massive torso crushed her lungs. "_Get_..._off_..."

"Don't you know the word please?" He placed his forearms on the marble floor, flanking her head, as he lifted himself far enough that she could breathe, but not far enough that she could wriggle herself out from beneath him.

She glared up at him. "Don't you give me shit about the word 'please', because honey I _will rip_ you a new one. Now remove your body from my person so I can check to see which of my limbs you've broken."

He looked down at her with his eyebrows raised to his hairline. "Excuse me, I believe you were the one who was stumbling around, valiantly claiming to be capable enough to make it to your apartment when two steps didn't even get you past my door. And no, I like this position. It's amusing to see you squirm."

"Get off."

"Make me."

That's when she bumped her knee against his groin. Hard enough to get her message across but not hard enough for him to come after her with a pitchfork for emasculating him.

Startled, he yelped and spun away from her. "That was a low blow!"

Kagome rolled onto her knees and gave him a tight smile. "What goes around, comes around."

He chuckled to himself and shook his head. "You know..." he said with a tone that stressed feigned indifference when the pending comment was anything but. He rolled onto his side and propped his hand under his head. "...This don't-wanna-have-sex-with-you thing is getting old. We should just sleep together. Get it over and done with. I can only withstand so much foreplay."

Kagome had taken off her heels and was reaching for her purse when she stopped to look at him. That's when she noticed the unusual shine to his eyeballs.

So he was a bit tipsy after all. Though, he wasn't trashed either so he was fair game. But it would undoubtedly come to bite her in the ass come morning.

Kagome gave out a low chuckle and stood, saying to him, "You better sober up by the morning. Goodnight, Mr. Taisho."

"Yeah, sure," he said and watched as she sashayed barefooted out of his office and down the hall, heals in hand, hips swaying and all.

He shook his head and wondered if she knew how desirable she was or if she was truly oblivious. The slight tent in his pants didn't care either way. Half way back to his hotel, he realized she hadn't told him no.

. . .

Kikyo Lee sat in her Audi, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel. She glanced at her watch with a quick snap of her wrist.

_10:21 a.m._

_Leave it to that good-for-nothing man to make me wait on him._

She sighed irritably, staring blankly at the property in front of her: a five bed, four and a half bath nestled in a hillside crook with a heavy touch of Mediterranean architecture. Inuyasha didn't favor culture-influenced architecture, but she figured the near three-sixty view of sprawling lakes and rolling greenery would be enough to make him think twice. The layout of the interior drifted away from traditional Japanese layout and favored the broad, open grandeur of western culture.

_Right up his alley_, she thought with biting amusement.

Unlike his brother, Inuyasha's mother had been an Japanese-american woman born in the state of Illinois, and had spent a significant amount of his life in the western hemisphere, namely the States. His "westernized attitude" wasn't a popular one among the bigwigs in Japan, although no one would publicly express it. The little shitheads didn't want any of the American boys getting wind of the distaste and breaking the "trusting bond" between Japanese and American business. That never stopped Inuyasha from taking full advantage of that knowledge. His name usually ended up on most hate-lists.

Unable to sit still her car, she got out, leaned against the side of the car, and lit up a cigarette.

Inuyasha's past always seemed to put her on edge. There was little she didn't know about the Taisho's dark history. The business relationship between the Taishos and her date back to her great-grandfather, a fisherman whose biggest customer was a farmer, Korimitsu Taisho.

Korimitsu had been the beginning of the wealthy lineage, simply from the philosophy he carried: Never give nor take what is not earned. His predecessors had honored the name and philosophy well until Ken Taisho came along and drove the name into the ground, along with his business, by allowing the face of of the Taisho family to be smeared all over the tabloids with his indiscretions. It was Sesshomaru who, fresh out of college, had picked up the pieces and carried Taisho Com back to its former glory.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, had dealt with the drama in a whole different ball field. His playboy attitude couldn't fool her. But she enjoyed rubbing the salt in his wounds to see him break, just a little.

She tossed her cigarette butt to the ground as a black, shining sports car roared around the corner, nearly taking out a mailbox.

_No use now_, she thought irritatingly, _you're already late_. She ground the cigarette out with the heel of her stiletto.

The car rolled to a stop in front of her car, the tires almost grazing her toes. The tinted window rolled down and bright golden eyes peered from the darkness.

"You looked annoyed. Should I be worried?" Inuyasha grinned.

She leaned forward, placing her arm against the curve of the roof, dropping her shoulder, giving her body the feigned posture of relaxation, like a cat crouched on its stomach, muscles tight and ready to uncoil. Only the dangerous smile she flashed betrayed her intentions.

"Don't underestimate me," she answered slowly, almost gailey. "I'll make you pay."

The grin left his lips but the laughing mischief remained in his eyes. They flickered to the structure in front of him, then the grimace set in.

"Really, Kikyo..."

"Can't judge a book by its cover."

"Don't give me that bullshit."

She rolled her eyes and started walking in the direction of the front door. "Just come inside and take a look. It's not like you have more important things to do."

By the time he thought of a good insult to hurl at her, she was already inside and out of shouting range. How was she always able to do that? He sighed and unbuckled himself.

"So the torture commences," he said to no one in particular.

. . .

Kagome was frowning, staring at her rough draft in her hands.

"There's not enough personal stuff. Secrets, history, whatever," Henry was saying. "People want the juice on him, not something you can already find off Wikipedia."

That made her want to fling the paper in his face and shout: You gave the topic to _me_ to write!

Instead, she said, "The deadline is too close for me to redo the article. That would be like asking a mechanic to disassemble an entire car and put it back together in two days."

Which was true, but she knew it could be done and that she could do it. The real reason was that she didn't want to elaborate on whatever strain or heartache Kouga might have endured to reach the point he was at now. In the wake of achievement, moments of hardship became futile and inconsequential. She wanted to honor his achievements, not a dark past.

"Schedule another meeting with him, get inside his head, his past, his childhood," Henry said. "There is no fame without a cost. Find out what it cost him. Don't come back until you've rewritten it."

Kagome went back to her desk and fought the desire to beat her head against the solid surface. She didn't want to rethink the content of the article. Period. That was what gave media conglomerates a bad reputation, produced to cater to the savage lust for human imperfection.

She flung the papers across her desk, not caring where they landed. Next to her, the phone rang.

"Kagome speaking," she sighed, not bothering to look at the ID number.

"Kagome, it's Inuyasha. I need a favor."

She glanced to the phone number. He was using his cellphone. Favors and cell phones usually meant nothing good. In her respect, at least.

"What can I help you with," she said in a tone that suggested her otherwise reluctance to help him.

"I need you to pick some documents up and give them to Taka Yoshida. He will be waiting for them in my office. I have a meeting at three o'clock in Osaka so I won't be able to do it myself."

Kagome placed her hand over the mouthpiece and proceeded to bang it against her head. Then she stopped and, for a prolonged moment, stared at her computer screen and her strewn rough draft.

Inuyasha's impatient voice filtered up from the phone.

"Ok," she said, "where at?"

She jotted down the address he gave her and hightailed it with a single-minded purpose.

Henry be damned. Her article, _her_ work, _her_ decision... She was the one who was going to call the shots, one way or another.


End file.
